Here’s the quick answer: Paid search works best when people are already looking for what you sell – think Google users typing in a problem or product name. Paid social is for reaching the right people even before they know they need you – think Meta, Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn, where you create demand and build audiences you can later convert. If you’re brand new, start with the basics in what is paid advertising.
The quick answer
Paid search captures people who are actively looking right now. Paid social finds people based on who they are and what they do online. Use search when demand already exists. Use social to create demand, build brand, and warm up audiences. For help choosing channels, see which advertising platform should I use.
| Area | Paid search | Paid social |
|---|---|---|
| Where ads show | Search results and partner networks | Feeds, Stories, Reels, in-stream |
| Targeting | Keywords, queries, intent signals | Demographics, interests, behaviors, lookalikes |
| User mindset | Problem aware and solution seeking | Scrolling and open to ideas, not always shopping |
| Creative | Text-led with intent aligned copy | Visual-led with strong hooks |
| Pricing | Mostly CPC | CPM or CPC |
| Best use case | Capture existing demand | Create demand, build brand, retarget |
Table of contents
Audience targeting
What it means
Search targets the words people type. Social targets the people themselves and their on-platform behavior.
Why it matters
If people already want your offer, search wins on precision. If people don’t know yet, social wins on reach and creative testing. Get more guidance in our platform guide.
How to do it
- Build tight search ad groups around bottom-funnel keywords. Add negative keywords to cut waste.
- On social, start broad to let the algorithm learn, then layer lookalikes from your retargeting pools.
- Match creative to the audience. Cold users need education and outcomes, warm users need proof and offers.
Intent
What it means
Intent is readiness to act. Search users raise their hand with a query. Social users are interruptible – you earn attention with story and value.
Why it matters
High intent traffic converts at higher rates and can support higher CPCs. Lower intent traffic needs nurturing, which impacts funnel design. See the bigger picture in how paid ads support marketing strategy.
How to do it
- Map queries to funnel stages: transactional terms to conversion pages, informational terms to education.
- Use social to seed demand with hooks and stories. Let search harvest when users are ready.
- Close the loop with site and profile retargeting.
Budget allocation
What it means
How you split spend between channels and funnel stages.
Why it matters
All harvest and no planting leads to plateau. All planting and no harvest hurts revenue. See how to set a paid ads budget and check cost ranges in paid advertising cost.
How to do it
- Many small businesses split 40-60% to search and 40-60% to social. Adjust by market and margin.
- Ring-fence 10% of social spend for creative testing with A/B testing.
- Rebalance weekly based on CPA, ROAS, and volume caps.
Results and speed
What it means
Search often delivers conversions quickly because you ride existing demand. Social ramps as the algorithm learns and your creative sharpens.
Why it matters
Realistic expectations prevent panic pauses. Compare timelines in how quickly will I see results from paid ads.
How to do it
- Set milestones: search shows stable CPA early, social shows CTR and CPC improvements by week two.
- Measure with clean conversions. See how to measure paid advertising performance.
- If you get clicks without sales, fix it with ads getting clicks but no sales.
Creative and landing pages
What it means
Search is copy-led. Social is visual-led with hooks. Both need fast pages, congruent offers, and proof.
Why it matters
Mismatched creative or slow pages inflate CPAs. Strong headlines and aligned landing pages cut waste.
How to do it
- Search: mirror the query in headlines, use extensions, route to specific pages.
- Social: bold hook, outcome, proof, CTA.
- Test systematically with A/B testing.
When to use each
- Choose paid search when demand exists, timing matters, or you can support higher CPCs.
- Choose paid social when you need reach, storytelling, or when your product solves a problem people don’t search for yet.
- Choose both for compounding growth: social fills top of funnel, search converts it. Retarget everywhere.
How to combine search and social
- Use social to introduce the category and collect visitors, then retarget them with warm ads.
- Bid on brand and high-intent keywords to capture people who saw your social creative and now search your name.
- Feed search term insights into social hooks. Feed social comments into search ad copy.
Common mistakes
- Judging social by last click only and underfunding learning.
- Spray-and-pray targeting on social or broad match everything on search without negatives.
- Sending traffic to a slow homepage. Use focused landing pages. If stuck, see manage paid ads yourself or hire an agency.
Are you ready to launch your paid ads?
Test yourself with the quiz below.
Next steps
- Start with your numbers in how to set a paid ads budget.
- Sense-check timelines with how fast do paid ads work.
- Lock in measurement with how to measure paid advertising performance.
- If you’re a lean team, read paid ads for small business.